Stoker



April 21, 1936. c. T. HANSEN STOKER Filed Feb. 23, 1923 I5 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNEY April 21, 1936.

c. T. HANSEN STOKER Filed Feb. 23, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'II INVENTOR 61117511 I Hansen ATTORNEY 30 ing.

Patented Apr. 21, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- STOKEB I Christ T. Hansen, Chicago, 111., assignor to The Standard Stoker Comp poration. of Delaware any, Incorporated, a cor- Application February 23, 1929, 'Se rial No. 341,867-

j 8 Claims. (o1.110 1o1 ther comprising a feeding or conveyor system operative with the conduit system for conveying the fuel therethrough; it has been the practice to dispose the discharge mouth or termination of the conduit system at or in the vicinity of the side of the boiler containing the firing door opening.

In locomotive boilers the firing door opening is in'the-rear side or back wall of the boiler and the conduit mouth of the stoker has been either ex-,

tenor of or interior of the firebox and adjacent the firing door opening, enabling hand firing to be availed of when desired and particularly if there is any failure in operation of the fuel distributing devices that have been associated with the discharge portion of the conduit system for distributing or scattering the fuel over the firebed.

My present invention differs primarily from prior constructions in that the conduit system instead of terminating at the side of the boiler firebox containing the firing door opening is so arranged that its discharge mouth is disposed at the side of the firebox opposite from said open- The primary advantage of this construction is that the finer and lighterparticles of fuel are delivered to the hottest part ofthe firebed, ,and the fuel entering the firebox below the roof or arch thereof is forced or directed downward over the firebed, instead of, as heretofore, being carried away unconsumed over the arch through the opening between it and the firedoor. The present invention overcomes the prior defect in mechanical stoking boilers of failure to consume the lighter, finer fuel particles, the heating content of which is necessarily lost if they are car'- ried away unconsumed through the boiler fine.

In carrying out the invention practically, it

45 has been found desirable in some constructions Where the conduit and feeding systems have extended beneath the boiler grate, to re-design the ash pan so as to conveniently house and protect thesystems. 1 In the accompanying drawings various con structions embodying the principles ofthe invention are disclosed for different styles of stokers and boilers, all of the boilers illustrated. being 10- comotive boilers. stood that the principles of the invention are It is, however, to be underreadily adaptable to stokers forboilers other than locomotive boilers, the idea being to convey the fuel to a point above the level of the firebed, either inside or outsideof the firebox, at or adjacent to the end portion of the grate that is oppo- 5 site the regular firing-door opening, the firing thus being done against the general direction of the draft instead of with it as heretofore and the lighter fuel particles being prevented from es-' caping and hence of necessity being consumed.

To the above and other ends which will here, inafter appear, my invention consists in the features of construction, combinations of devices and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention will be described specifically and in detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of 'a stoker applied to a boiler and embodying one form of the invention, only so much of the stoker and the boiler being illustrated as is necessary to a full understanding of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken on a plane indicated by the section line 2,

- 2 in Fig. 1 and looking forward;

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2 but showing a modification of the ash pan construction;

Fig.4 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view generally resemblin'gFig. 1 but .showing a modification of the invention; and r Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of another modification.

Referring first to the Figs. 1-2 construction, there is illustrated therein a boiler l0 of the locomotive type embodying a back wall II and a throat sheet l2 oppositely disposed from the .back wall. The firebox l3-of the boiler has an underlying grate I 4 and a motor arched cover; 40 comprising spaced members l5 and bricks or slabs l6 of refractory material.

It 'will be observed that the cover constituted by'the bricks terminates short of the back-wall l I, leaving as is usual an opening, designated generally at. I], and that the roof or cover. inclines upward from front to rear. The boiler is suitably supported on a locomotive frame indicated at 18, the Fig. 1 construction showing an arrangement whereby the cab is at the rear end portion of the locomotive, the cab deck being designated-as l9. It-will be understood that the locomotive is coupled orflexibly connected to a tender, not herein disclosed, and that the fuel is supplied from the tender to the boiler bymeans of a stoker mechanism comprising a conduit system and a feeding or conveyor system only the forward elements of which are shown. The conduit system is disposed on the median plane of the firebox. The conduit system comprises a circular or if desired a Ushaped element section 20 telescoping into a forwardly disposed element 2| connected by a universal joint connection 22 with a horizontally disposed and forwardly extending tubular conduit section or element 23 of circular or U-shaped section. The section 23 extends longitudinally below the boiler and beneath the grate I4 thereof tothe forward end portion of the firebox, where the tubular section 23 is telescoped into a curved elbow joint 24, the latter being directed upwardly through an opening 9 in the grates l4 and is connected with a housing or riser 25 disposed within the firebox adjacent the throat sheet l2. The arrangement is such that the discharge mouth 26 of the conduit system is within the firebox l3 and underlying the roofportion |6 thereof.

The mouth 26, it will also be seen, is in effect diametrically opposite from the usual firing door opening designated as 21 in the back-wall H and which is ordinarily covered by a closure or door conventionally illustrated at 28. The housing or conduit element 25 is protected by a vertically disposed protecting grating 29 which co-operates with the grate H to prevent direct contact between the burning fuel and the conduit system inthe boiler area.

The conduit system houses a feeding system comprising flexibly connected conveyor screw sections 30 and 3|, the latter terminating at its forward end at the elbow 24. The screw conveyor or feeding means comprising the sections 30 and 3| is mechanically operated, and, it will be understood, will effect a feeding of the fuel from the source of supply on the tender through the conduit system comprising the elements or portions 2|, 23, 24 and 25 and upward to the mouth 26 thereof.

Associated, as is usual, with the conduit system is a fuel distributing system or means, which as herein disclosed comprises a distributor head 32 provided with jet forming openings 33 which are connected by pipes 34 with a source of supply of steam or other fluid distributing means, the pressure in the pipes being independently regulated by a valve system, not shown.

In operation, as the fuel passes or is forced upward through the riser 25, its upper portion leaving the discharge mouth 26 of the conduit system will be acted on by the fuel distributing means, in the present instance the steam jets actingto scatter or distribute the fuel rearwardly over the grate l4 or the firebed thereon and in the general direction of the fire door opening 21. It will be seen that the distributor head 32 is disposed between the mouth of the conduit and the top or roof l6 of the firebox and in a comparatively confined space, so that the finer and lighter particles of the fuel, instead of being carried away upward, will be held downward and scattered by the distributor system over the hottest portion of the firebed. This contrasts with prior constructions in which the fuel is distributed from the fire door side, the natural tendency of the draft being to carry the finer and lighter particles upward through the opening |1 before they can be consumed.

In the Figs. 1-2 construction the portion 23 of the conduit system is shown as passing through the ash pan system designated generally as 35.

In order to minimize the chances of the fuel in this portion of the system of coking, by reason of heat transmitted from the ash pan, it may be preferred to modify the ash pan construction to.that shown in Fig. 3 wherein an ash pan 36 is shown longitudinally divided to provide a. passage-way 31 for the tubular conduit element or section 23.

By the Fig. 3 construction it will be seen that the conduit and its contained screw elements are disposed entirely outside of the ash pan where they are less liable to heating from this source.

In Fig. 4 there is illustrated a modified embodiment of the invention in which the interiorly disposed elbow and riser 24 and 25 of the Figs. 1-2 construction are replaced by an outside arrangement comprising a combined curved elbow and riser element 33 which extends under and outside of the throat sheet l2. The element 38 has a removable cover or top portion 39 which directs the fuel rearward and through an opening indicated at 40 in the throat sheet l2. In this construction the distributing system comprises a distributor table or floor element 4| which projects horizontally rearward through the opening 46 in the throat sheet and terminates just within the firebox.

The fuel distributor system of the Fig. 4 construction comprises a vertical distributor head 42 which is arranged between the conduit element 38 and the distributor table 4| and is located for the most part outside of the opening 40, the jet forming holes 43 in the head acting to scatter and distribute the fuel over the table 4| and thence on to the grate 4 and generally in the direction of the firing door opening which is at the opposite side of the boiler and in the rear wall thereof.

A further modification is illustrated in Fig, 5 adapted for use in a locomotivein which the cab is at the front instead of at the rear, as in the first described construction; and this modification-may also be used on locomotives where the engineers cab is located at the rearward end of the normal boiler location and where the tender and firemans position are ahead of the boiler. In this Fig. 5 construction, the tender is coupled to the locomotive at the smoke box or stack end thereof, and the stoker extends from the tender beneath the barrel of the locomotive boiler to the hollow wall I 2 adjacent the throat or flue sheet. The locomotive cab is in the usual position with reference to the firebox, but since the tender is at the smoke box end of the locomotive, the cab is-thus at the head end of the train whereby greater visibility for the engine crew is afforded. In adapting the invention to this type of construction the conduit system has its forward tu bular section 44 connected by a joint 45 with an upwardly and forwardly inclined riser and elbow member 46 having a removable top closure 41 and which is supported on a bracket 46. The fuel is thus directed and guided upward and forward to an opening 46 in the throat sheet |2 This opening, it will be understood, is at the opposite side of the firebox l3 from the fire door opening as in the prior constructions but with a reversal of position with respect to the locomotive. The distributor table 4| and distributing system involving the distributor head 42 and jets 43 may correspond in theFig. 5 construction with that disclosed in Fig. 4 and above described.

I claim:

1. The combination, in a locomotive provided with a frame and a firebox above said frame,

2,088,428 or a grate in said firebox, and a feed conduit disposed on the median plane of said firebox for delivering fuel thereto, said conduit comprising ,a riser section rigidly fixed to the front wall of said firebox and having its discharge end positioned above said grate and its receiving end below said grate and a substantially horizontal section disposed below the plane of said grate and at its rearward end being rigidly mounted on said frame and having its forward end loosely fitting the receiving end of said riser section in telescopic relation thereto.

2. The combination, in a locomotive provided with a frame and a firebox above said frame, of a grate in said firebox, a feed conduit section mounted rigidly on said frame at its rear end and extending beneath said grate, the forward end of said section terminating adjacent the front end of the firebox, and a riser conduit member at its lower end portion loosely fitting said conduit section and at its upper end communicating with said firebox at the forward end portion thereof and terminating at a point above said grate, said feed conduit section and said riser member being disposed on the median plane of said firebox, said riser member being rigidly fixed to said firebox, the loose fit between the conduit section and theriser member permitting longitudinal movements between the parts to compensate for expansion and contraction of the firebox on the frame.

3. The combination, in a locomotive provided with a frame and a firebox above said frame, of a grate in said firebox, a feed conduit section having its main portion mounted beneath said grate and terminating adjacent the front end of the firebox, and a riser conduit member at its lower end portion loosely fitting the forward end of said conduit section and at its upper end extending within said firebox adjacent the front wall thereof and terminating at a point above said grate, said feed conduit section and said riser member being disposed on the median plane of said firebox, said riser member being rigidly fixed to the front wall of said firebox and said conduit section being rigidly mounted on said frame at its rear end, the loose fit between the conduit section and the riser member permitting longitudinal movement between the parts to compensate for expansion and contraction of the firebox on the frame.

4. In combination with a locomotive firebox including a front and rear wall and grates, said rear wall having a firing opening therethrough, a fire arch extending rearwardly and upwardly above the level of said grates from said front wall to a point short of said rear wall forming a passage between said rear wall and the rearward end of I said fire arch, and a fuel conveyor system disposed on the median plane of the firebox, said conveyor system including a conduit below the level of the grates, an upstanding conduit receiving from said first named conduit and extending upward to a point above the level of said grates adjacent said front wall, means in said first named conduit for urging fuel along said conduit and upwardly through said upstanding conduit to a point below said fire arch, and means at the discharge end of said upstanding conduit for scattering fuel upon the firebed in the general direction of said firing opening.

5. In combination with a locomotive firebox in-' cluding a front and rear wall and grates, said rear wall having a firing opening therethrough, a fire arch extending rearwardly and upwardly above the level of said grates from said front wall to a point short of said rear wall forming a passage between said rear wall and the rearward end of said fire arch, and a conduit and conveyor system disposed on the median plane of the firebox beneath the grates for transferring fuel longitudinally of the firebox and under the grates to a point adjacent said front wall and thence upward to a point above the level of said grates and below said fire arch, and means adjacent said front wall at the discharge end of said conduit and conveyor system for scattering the fuel upon the firebed in the general direction of the firing opening.

6. In combination with a locomotive firebox including a front and rear wall and grates, said rear wall having a firing opening therethrough, a condu it system disposed on the median plane of the firebox for directing and guiding fuel from a source of supply to the front end of the firebox, said system comprising a horizontally disposed conduit element extending longitudinally of the firebox and beneath the grates thereof and an upwardly directed conduit element communicating at its lower end with the forward end of said horizontally disposed conduit element and extending upwardly through said firebox grates terminating at its discharge end above said grates and adjacent the front wall of said firebox, and means adjacent said front wall at the discharge end of said conduit system for scattering the fuel upon the firebed in the general direction of the opening in the firebox rear wall.

7. In combination with a locomotive firebox including a front and rear wall and grates, said rear wall and said front wall each having an opening therethrough, a fire arch extending rearwardly and upwardly above the level of said grates from said front wall to a point short of said rear wall forming a passage between said rear wall and the rearward end of said fire arch, a conduit system comprising a portion extending longitudinally of the firebox and under the grates thereof and an upwardly extending portion communicating at its lower end with the forward end of said longitudinally extending portion and at its upper end with the opening in said firebox front wall, and means at the discharge end of said conduit system for scattering the fuel upon the firebed in the general direction of the opening in the firebox rear wall.

, 8. In combination with a boiler having a substantially rectangular firebox provided with grates, walls bounding said rectangular firebox, one of said walls having a hand firing opening therein, the end portion of said firebox remote from the hand'firing opening in the aforesaid wall being provided with a power firing opening,

said openings being arranged so that a vertical plane passed along the medial line of the firebox passes approximately centrally of the openings, a fire arch for said firebox extending between the walls thereof and above said openings, said fire arch having an opening therein through which pass the products of combustion in the firebox,

the opening in the fire arch being disposed adjacent the firebox wall having the hand firing open.- ing therein, a conduit system for directing and guiding fuel from a source of supply to said power firing opening, said system comprising an approximately horizontal conduit element below the level of the grates, and an upwardly extending conduit element communicating with said horizontal conduit element, said vertical conduit including a discharge mouth disposed above the level of the grates, means in said horizontal conduit for conveying fuel along said horizontal conduit element and upwardly through said upward- 1y extending conduit element to the discharge mouth thereof, and means for projecting the fuel including a jet member adjacent the discharge mouth of the upwardly extending conduit with its outlets disposed below the fire arch of said firebox, the outlets of said jet member being directed toward the hand firing opening in the aforesaid wall of said firebox and in a plane sub- 5 stantially parallel to the firebox grates.

CHRIST T. HANSEN. 

